Menu-Plan-Monday

Ahhh, another Monday. I have actually started to enjoy Mondays. I enjoy starting a new week with new ideas about the house, (yes, one of these days I'll post more photos, but right now there are MANY more things to be done!) Today the kids and I went shopping. It was an especially tiring day, so this post will be short and sweet as I believe I can hear my bed calling my name!

Monday: Leftovers from Sun. dinner
Tuesday: Meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, mixed vegetables
Wednesday: Slow-cooked Swiss steak, Homemade wheat bread,
Thursday: Bacon-wrapped Chicken, Pea Salad
Friday:Tuna Cakes
Saturday: Out to dinner
Sun: Have no idea what I'll make but I do know that I'm dying to try a new Carrot Cake recipe, that is definitely on the list! :)

A Feeding Frenzy!

This is what happens when big 'Sis asks to take over feeding little 'Bro! Things went a lot better than I imagined that they would, most of the food actually made it into Tyler's mouth! They both enjoyed this quite a bit!

A Moment . . . .

More specifically a Mommy Moment.

I have a pretty tough stomach, something that has come in handy a time or two since I've began this journey of Motherhood. But, today . . . the toughness was tested. ( A side note, both of the kids have colds right now. Enough said.) I was sitting at the computer checking a few blogs before going to pick Brianna up from Preschool. Tyler started crying, I picked him up to sit in my lap. I hear this 'squishing' sound. Weird. I looked down at him and he is opening and closing his hand and 'squishing' a hand full of . . .how should I put this . . .nasal drainage! :( Looking at his face reveled more of the same. As I scooped him up and headed for the nearest bathroom, I'll have to admit, my stomach was doing little flip-flops as I cleaned him up. I had to swallow hard to get the job done but mission accomplished!

Another Mommy Moment (on the opposite end of the spectrum). I was outside doing some yard work the other day with the kids playing close by. Brianna suddenly looked up at me and said, "I like you Mommy, you're so beautiful!" Talk about good for the ego! :)

It's times like these that remind me of what an important job Motherhood really is. They need me, I need them, and that's all that really matters!

Easter Family Photos

Tyler LOVED his little stuffed dog, he kept hugging it, so sweet!
(It's so hard to keep those little dress shirts tucked in!)

Brianna really wasn't in the mood for pics, she just wanted to get into her basket!

Tim has been wanting a football for a while now, I found one on sale so I saved it for Easter. Tyler didn't think it was too great but he will in a few years!

Egg Hunting

Our town had their Easter Egg Hunt Friday afternoon due to the weekend forecast of cooler weather. Brianna, as always, was so excited to go. This year was Tyler's first egg hunt, we weren't sure if he would be into it or not. . . I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story! :)

Off to the Hunt

Waiting to beginAnd she's off!

Tyler, not so much, he wouldn't so much as bend down to pick up an egg!Still busy finding eggs . . . .And still not wanting to pick them up . . . .
And here we are, the meltdown has finally arrived, just too many expectations! :)
The Easter Bunny made an appearance, Tyler kept a safe distance from her!Brianna was so impressed with the 'real Easter eggs' that the Easter bunny handed outHappy once again with a mouth full of chocolate! A successful Hunt after all!

Don't you often wonder what they're really thinking?

Playin' Outside - Enjoying Spring!

We have had the best spring-like weather this week. It's been so great not to be cooped up in the house and I know the kids agree with me! They have loved every minute of playing outside. I have long ago given up staged photos, my kids don't cooperate so well when you request that they stop playing long enough for a photo, I just follow them around and take what I can get! :)

Is there anything as cute as
little toes peeking out of sandals?




Thanks so much for every one's kind comments on my last Menu Plan. Although my meals are quick-fix ones, I can't stay out of the kitchen for very long! I really enjoy cooking and baking and my family is more than glad to try out new recipes.(Happens quite a bit around here!) My kitchen is mostly put together so it's really not that hard to throw something together.

In the photo to the right: Brianna has Sophie trapped in that tunnel, it's no wonder that dog has issues!

A Menu-Plan- Monday on a Tuesday!

This is how things seem to be going this week. As organized as I thought I was, when you come down to it there is just no easy way to move. For instance, I'm sitting on the floor as I'm writing this. This makes for very interesting blogging as I make my fair share of typos, I'm constantly looking up at the computer screen to check my typing! I do have an office chair, it's just that it hasn't made it's way upstairs yet!

I have managed to get 6 loads of laundry washed today, dirty laundry just seems to manufacture itself, doesn't it? :) As always, I'm so thankful for my front-loaders that I can wash larger loads in, that really cuts down on the time.

As far as the Menu goes? Well, lets just say that since the bread, peanut butter and jelly are almost depleted I think it's time to start cooking again! A good friend brought supper to us on Sat, although we ended up saving it for Sunday lunch, it was very good and so nice of her! My kitchen still isn't totally put together but should look much better after today. While Tyler is still napping, the plan is to finish organizing the cabinets and the pantry. This weeks menu will be a mite sparse but hopefully we'll be back to normal pretty soon!

Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Steaks, baked potatoes, steamed broccoli
Wednesday: Rotisserie Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese
Thursday: Lasagna, Garlic bread, Salad
Friday: Spicy Roasted Drumsticks, Roasted Potato Wedges
Saturday: Out to eat with friends
Sunday: Ham(what else on Easter?!) Corn Casserole, Layered Salad, Rolls, Pineapple-Upside-Down Cake

Still Moving . . . .

Yes, my dear readers, we are still trying to move all our belongings to our little yellow house. It's been quite a slow process but I'm trying to get things put away as we go. The playroom hasn't fared very well but I'm waiting until I get to Target to buy a couple storage systems. This playroom is slightly smaller that the old one, since we can't spread out so much, we must go up, as in stacking storage. I plan to have a yard sale this spring and am going to sell some toys, there are some things that the kids just don't play with, there's no sense in keeping things around to clutter up the area.

The plan is to move the rest of the large items,(couch, treadmill,lg. dressers, and bookcase) tonight so that all that is left are the beds. We will sleep here tonight and then move beds tomorrow. It's going as well as possible although I could use some prayer for continued sanity! It's turned out to be a lot more challenging than I ever imagined, moving with 2 kids. The stress level is at an all-time high right now, and I discovered something else about myself this week! When I'm stressed, I eat chocolate, not a good combination!

I probably won't be posting again until next week as our phone/internet service won't be turned on until Monday. Have a great weekend everybody! :)
Now, where did I put the rest of that chocolate?

A Sneek Peek

into our house!
The Master Bedroom before:
And After!

The Kitchen Before any work was done:

And it's still a work in progress as you can see from all the boxes that need unpacked! The new hardwood floor is just barely visible, but beautiful, thanks to my handy husband!

The Office/Scrapbook before:

And Now, again, still needs work, but progress has been made!More photos to follow after we've moved!

Menu-Plan Monday

I'm going to go ahead and plan several meals for this week but I'll have to play-it-by-ear, as far as the cooking goes. Our goal is to be completely moved in by this Saturday, we have quite a bit to do between now and then. The house is looking much more "homey" and we're enjoying getting everything in it's rightful place. I'm going over this evening to paint the last room, the playroom, I will be so glad to have the painting done, it's such a chore. Probably not as much of a chore as sorting through, cleaning and moving all of the kids toys, but hopefully Brianna can help me a little bit with that. She takes after me in the fact of being able to just throw stuff away if it's broken or just doesn't want it any more, thank goodness I don't have a little pack-rat on my hands! :) On to the Menu:

Monday: I think today we'll just have leftover from yesterday,(venison steaks-n- gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans) or ham sandwiches.

Tuesday: Fuss-Free Ravioli and Cheese Bake, I'm going to be gone most of the day so this will be easy to throw together when I get home.
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can beef broth
1/4 cup Zesty Italian Dressing
2 pkg.(9oz.each) fresh cheese-filled ravioli
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Combine everything, place in dish. Cover with foil. Bake @ 375 for 50 min. or until tender. Remove foil, sprinkle with cheese. Let stand 5 min. or until cheese melts.

Wednesday: Slow cooker Chicken Dinner - very easy and good!
6 medium red potatoes, cut up
4 medium carrots, cut into 1/2" pieces
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cr. of mushroom
1 can cr. of chicken
1/8 tsp. garlic salt
Place potatoes and carrots in slow cooker. Top with chicken. Combine soups and garlic salt, pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low 8 hrs.

The rest of the week, with moving the entire kitchen and everything else, I think we'll clean out the fridge and make sandwiches! :)

Pam, here's this recipe, I'll try to post the others asap!

Spicy Roasted Drumsticks:
12 drumsticks
1 stick butter
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 T. Morton Hot salt (or any seasoning you like)
Combine butter, lemon juice, and seasoning in sauce pan. Transfer legs to the butter mixture one by one. Remove each leg to a baking rack. Using pastry brush, apply another coat of mixture to the drumsticks and sprinkle with additional seasoning, if desired. Bake @ 400 for 35-40 minutes or until crispy brown and delicious!

Moving!

Well, the kids are napping, and the laundry is actually completely caught up, what else is there to do besides blog? :) We are actually really busy today, we have began the moving process! I'll have to admit, I had my doubts whether or not this day would get here, but here we are, in the middle of a move once again. I have a love-hate relationship with moving. As a child we lived in so many places that I'm certainly accustomed to it but there are so many things about the process that I don't like. One, it's just so much work! I know that was very obvious but I feel it needed to be said, especially since I have been doing so much of it lately!

The one thing I do love about moving is the reorganizing that I can do, something that I'm really loving. It gives me a wonderful feeling that if I need something, I can go directly to the spot and get it, not spend an hour trying to find it. I'm so looking forward to getting the new house just the way I want it, I'm sure I will be way too slow getting it done, but so happy when it's finished.

Well, I must go and get a few more things packed and ready to take over to the house. When Brianna and Tyler wake up from their Much-Needed nap we are heading back over to work some more. I've been thoroughly cleaning the kitchen, there are lots of cabinets for which I'm VERY thankful, but they certainly take a while to clean!

P.S. To all of my Cookie-Dough-Loving friends out there: Yes, I've had my self-allotted ONE piece for the day! I must remain strong! :)

THESE little bites of goodness

promise to be of great detriment to my diet!

My diet seems to take a detour every 2 wks. when a certain big, yellow truck pulls into our driveway, they make it just too hard to resist! Actually I told them last time they came that we didn't need anything and then when Tim got home he was VERY disappointed when I told him that I didn't buy anything. He very carefully reminded me that we can always use some of that cookie dough! Of course, how dim-witted of me to have forgotten! :) I think there will be peace in our house once again now that this little box resides in our freezer!
Now if I can just make my brain forget that it's in there!

Happy Birthday Dad!

From our family to you, Dad, Happy Birthday! We hope you have a great day, we love you lots!

And something from Brianna and Tyler,(he's the silent partner for now)

Menu-Plan-Monday

Oh, my! Is it Monday already? We really enjoy our weekends around here, the only problem with them is that they end way too soon! We've had such nice weather for the last 3 days, the kids really enjoyed their time outside, complete with a trip to the park. Unfortunately it was short-lived, we're back in the 30's for this week but this weekend promises to be nice again. On to this week's Menu Plan . . . . .

Monday- Pizza Casserole, tossed salad

Tuesday - Spicy Roasted Drumsticks, glazed baby carrots

Wednesday - Slow-Cooker orange chicken over rice

Thursday - Perfect Winter Beef Stew, Cheddar Biscuits

Friday - Parmesan Chicken Fettuccine

Saturday - Go out to dinner